Estherville Daily News from Estherville, Iowa · Page 5

ESTHERVILLE DAILY NEWS, WED., JAN. 19, 1972 Page ^ How America Fell into Trade Deficit Dilemma FREE PRESCRIPTION DELIVERY ESTHERVILLE THRIFT STAMPS WITH EVERY PURCHASE - (Editor's note: Trade deficits are a rare occurrence in U.S. history, but there's no doubt now that the United States ran up a big one last year. The following story shows how it happened.) By BILL NEDURK Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's 1971 trade deficit, its first in 78 years, is a complex story of strikes and threatened strikes, of a country losing its competitive edge, and of Americans buying more imported goods than ever. ft is written in Census Bureau statistics showing rising imports of iron and steel, automobiles, petroleum and coal, television sets and a wide variety of consumer goods. Growing imports combined with declining exports add up to a trade deficit. Simply stated, it means American consumers bought more foreign goods than American businessmen sold in other countries. The government is busy totaling up the year's trade deficit It could approach $2 billion. That would be a staggering turnaround from 1970 when the nation had a $2.6-billion trade surplus. Trade analysts and economists are also busy figuring out what happened. There is little disagreement on the principal reasons: The world's major economies were out of kilter in 1971. The United States began expansive policies and started a recovery, making it a good market for imports. The economies of Japan and Western Europe suffered slowdowns, making them bad markets for U.S. exports. With this condition lowering U.S. resistance, Americans began to see clearly the underlying ailment: The economies of Japan and Western Europe had bounced back from World War n and were competing effectively with the United States. Strikes and the threat of strikes might have been weathered in any other year. The threat of a steel strike in the first part of the year tended to Smart ' Bomb Zeros WASHINGTON (AP) - With a television camera in its nose and a steering system in its tail, the Air Force's "smart bomb" strikes its target in Indochina 10 times more often than a conventional bomb. That judgment was offered by pilots now stationed at the Pentagon after duty in Vietnam and experience with the two types of smart bombs first introduced in Southeast Asia four years ago. The other type relies on a laser beam to lock the bomb onto its target. Pilots say the tenfold increase in accuracy curtails the number of repeat sorties to bomb targets missed the first time around and thus, reduces the risk to pilot and plane. Specific figures are classified, but reports after the laser- guided bombs were first introduced In'Vietnam said more r than 70 per cent of nearly 1,000 dropped found their mark. Contrary to some reports, smart bombs are unable to zoom around hilltops or crawl around corners, but, they are, able to knock out such difficult targets as narrow road intersections, bridges, dams, tunnels and supply caches which often defy destruction with conventional bombs or air-to- ground missiles. Essentially, smart bombs are conventional iron bombs of 750, 1,000 or 2,000 pounds equipped with either a laser guidance kit or electro-optical (TV) kit. They differ from missiles in that they have no propulsion system other than gravity and the speed of release. With the laser-guided bomb, Safety Boosts Price of Car WASHINGTON (AP) - If you're shopping for a new family car this year, you may pay an extra $25 to $36 for safety. The government has told three major American automakers they can pass along to the consumer the cost of new safety devices included as standard equipment on 1972 models. The Price Commission's action Wednesday means the list price of a $3,000 car will go up about $25 to $36 with variations from company to company depending on the devices included. The automakers already had won Price Commission approval to raise 1972 list prices to reflect increases in other costs. But the commission said the manufacturers have promised to ask no additional increases unless special circumstances occur. In another economic development, a spokesman for nonunion construction firms demanded a Justice Department investigation of a presidential panel assigned to restrain pay increases in the construction trades. Joseph S. LaMonaca, president of the Associated Builders and Contractors Inc., said he had written the Justice Department and the Cost of Living Council urging a probe of the Construction Industry Stabilization Committee and its chairman, Harvard Prof. John T. Dunlop. LaMonaca accused the CISC of "suspected conspiratorial activities" but did not elaborate. He criticized the committee for "obstinate violation of the President's directives" in approving retroactive payment of contracted wages lost during the wage freeze. the forward air controller spots the target with a laser beam, an intense narrow cone of light. Reflected radar radiation off the target is picked up by a second plane which dives into attack, locks onto the target electronically and pitches its bomb onto the laser beam. A guidance seeker on the bomb nose rides the beam home. Pilots armed with the electro- optical or TV guided bomb pick up the target on a five-inch television screen in their cockpit. Similar to a standard TV camera, the optical seeker in the bomb's nose locks onto the' target and automatically guides the weapon to impact, steered on the way by a guidance control system which maneuvers the tail fins much like the tail assembly on an airplane. Although reported to be highly accurate, the smart bombs can be used only in good weather when the target can be sighted visually by pilots. Smart bombs are not intended as a replacement for conventional bombs which still see heavy usage in nighttime raids, in bad weather and against larger targets where pinpoint accuracy is unnecessary. Air Force officials estimated that smart bombs accounted for less than one per cent of the 800,000 tons of aerial munitions dropped in Indochina in 1971. House Overhauling Court Reform Bill DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A i House committee planned to start,.. overhauling a so-called .court reform bill Monday afternoon to try to come up with a version the legislature might accept. The bill proposes to abolish the state's justice of the peace, mayor's and police courts. It would create a "unified trial court," with the minor courts replaced by magistrates appointed by judges of the district courts. Municipal courts would be integrated into the system but municipal judges in office when the bill becomes law would retain their positions. Gov. Robert Ray has warmly endorsed the unified trial court concept and the bill is on the priority list of legislation to be considered by this session despite a notable lack of enthusiasm among some lawmakers for some of the bill's provisions. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Pelton said his comittee plans to "tear the bill apart and put it together again" to try to meet objections raised by some legislators. Pelton said Rep. John Camp, R-Bryant, wants to "run past" the committee a suggestion to solve one big bone of contention— how to pay the district court magistrates. One of the reasons advanced for abolishing the justice of the peace courts is that the justices are compensated by retaining a certain portion of the fees and fines they are empowered by law to collect. Critics say this operates to encourage justices of the peace to find people guilty. The bill as passed by the Senate last year provides that each magistrate be paid a salary out of the court fund, or the general fund, of the county he serves. This is opposed by legislators fearful of its effect on local property taxes. Camp's proposal is that the fines and fees collected by the magistrates be sent to the state and that the legislature provide annually by appropriation for salaries of the magistrates. Provision also would have to be made to remit to each county, city and town the fines and forfeited bail due them. Another section of the bill which has drawn the fire of some legislators is one which would set up a schedule of minimum fines for minor traffic violations and allow the motorist to pay his fine by mail. House Speaker William Harbor, R-Henderson, says he is one who opposes the bill be­ cause of this provision, which he calls "mail box justice," _ ( of the measure, however, say court reform is needed to upgrade public confidence in the courts. In his State of the State address, Ray told the legislature last week the unified trial court system "is desperately needed to replace an archaic, outmoded judicial structure older than the state itself. "Such court reform," he added, "will instill in Iowans confidence in and respect for the judiciary, particularly at the lower level where most people first come in contact with the courts." Jack Creek Mr. and Mrs. Ray Anderson spent two days recently with Mr. and Mrs. David Andersen at Ankeny. They also visited the Dennis Boechter family at Lakota. Mrs. Boechter is their daughter. Guests in the Gilbert England home on the occasion of Mrs. England's birthday last week were Ronald England, Annette Dunn, Vickie England, Kenneth Hiles, Mr. and Mrs. Dale Erickson and sons, Mrs. Esther Hatland, Mr. and Mrs. Everett Hatland, and Mr. and Mrs. Merlyn Clark of Wallingford. Mr. and Mrs. Merle Flint and Becky entertained Sunday in honor of Nancy's birthday. Guests were Mr. and Mrs. Martin Oleson, Mr. and Mrs. Maynard Oleson and family, Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Oleson, Mr. and Mrs. Lowell Christiansen and family, Mr. and Mrs. Keith Christiansen and Laurie, Mr. and Mrs. Glen Flint and family, Pastor and Mrs. P. L. Mork and Joseph Brown of Estherville. New Year's guests in the James Ellerston home were Jane Ellerston, Annie Welsh, Mr. and Mrs. James DeSmitt, Jon and James Rae Ellerston. Mr. and Mrs. Lyle Schipull entertained at a card party on New Year's Eve for guests, Mr. and Mrs. Herluf Johansen, Mr. and Mrs. Russell Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Jim Meyer, Mr. and Mrs. Bud Juhl, Mr. and Mrs. Walton Sorenson, Mr. and Mrs. Willard Twait, and Mr. and Mrs. Walt Ulrick. step up steel imports. A coal strike also increased imports. Then the dock strikes distorted the picture. Trade analysts in the Commerce Department said the dock strike tended to hurt exports worst, although no one could offer any proof on how much. The combination of circumstances, however, was powerful. According to Census figures for the first 11 months of 1971, foreign imports increased $4.9 billion over the same period in 1970 while exports climbed by only $600 million, hi terms of percentages, imports advanced by 13.5 per cent and exports by only 5 per cent. Herbert H. Glantz, a trade analyst in the Commerce Department, provided this picture of 1971 through November: — Imports from Canada rose $1.6 billion, up 15 per cent from 1970. From Western Europe, they increased by $1.4 billion, or 14 per cent, and from Japan, they were up by $1.1 billion, or 20 per cent. — Exports to Canada provided the only bright spot, going up by $1.1 billion or 13 per cent over a year. But goods shipped, to Western Europe fell by $379 million, or 4 per cent, and to Japan by $570 million, or 14 per cent. President Nixon saw what was happened at midyear and, to prevent a balance-of-payments disaster, suspended the convertibility of the dollar into gold and imposed a 10-per-cent import surcharge. The surcharge was removed in late December when a new monetary settlement was reached by the non-Comunist world's major powers. The trade figures disclose the surcharge had little apparent effect in reducing the flow of imports, although it did prove an effective bargaining stick in winning the monetary agreement. • Hirough November, U.S. • businesses >>hado *xpovted'^Sft(5 . billion in goods. Imports'totaled $41.3 billion. For all of 1970, exports totaled $42.6 billion and imports $40 billion. Here's the way it breaks down by major economies: Canada— U.S. business shipped $9,252 billion to Canada in the first 11 months of 1971. Canada imported $11,665 billion into the United States. Western Europe, including the Common Market—U.S. exports through November were $12.5 billion; imports to the United States totaled $11.5 billion. Japan— Imports from Japan totaled $6.5 billion through November, compared with $3.6 billion in U.S. exports to that country. By products, the export-import picture mirrored the difference between the economies of the world, the U.S. recovery and the European-Japanese slowdowns. For example, computer sales overseas had been strong in 1970. m 1971, they declined 4 per cent. Electric components sales dropped by 12 per cent. The same was true of iron and steel, an area in which exports had gone up by 26 per cent in 1970. In 1971, exports of iron and steel tailed off by 39 per cent. Trade analysts blamed it on stockpiling by U.S. companies in anticipation of a strike which never came. Coal exports, a 62-per-cent gainer in 1970, fell off by 4 per cent in 1971. Aluminum exports were also down. Anticipated rises in exports of other goods were less than expected. Although U.S. business took it on the chin from imports, for consumers it was a good year for buying foreign-made products. Consumer goods accounted for biggest part of the import gain, going up by 22 per cent over 1970. Industrial supplies accounted for another 12-per-cent, or $1.7- billion, increase in imports. Steel imports were up by $668 million, petroleum by $440 million, and lumber by $211 million. MILLER'S ReSale Burt, iowa 50522 End of season near. Good Bargains. V2 - price Sale Continues. Pick up your unsold items by Jaa 31. Please give us a 3 day notice. We will begin making appointments for spring items Jan. 24. No cards or letters. Hours 10-5 Tues. - Sat. 10-9 Mon. Burt, Iowa, 50522. Phone 295-2967. 3% miles north from Jet. 18 & 169. ESTHERVILLE DRUG < I (Oalqfecn clqcncq PRESCRIPTION SPECIALISTS OPEN 9:00 a.m. TO 6:00 p.m. DAILY — SUNDAYS 10:00 a.m. TO NOON THURSDAYS 9:00 a.m. TO 9:00.p.m. - QUANTITY RIGHTS RESERVED Wednesday Thru Saturday Specials S S y s Ws Thursday, Friday, Saturday - January 20, 21, 22 On All Color FILM PROCESSING COLOR SLIDES-MOVIES-COLOR PRINTS ^Except Black & White, 8 x 10 Enlargements, Special Kodak Work and Special Orders) 2 DAY SERVICE Nylon Head SCARVES Sylvania FLASHCUBES Jergen's LOTION With Dispenser $1.69 List Walgreen ASPIRIN 200$ $3.18 List US's Tom Scott MIXED HUTS Framed PAINTINGS MOP & GLO 32-Oz. Plastic £| Bottle 4> I Medicated 75 Pads Pads GAS LINE ANTI-FREEZE Cans 25 % OFF KNIT GLOVES, MITTENS AND HEADWEAR CONTAC COID CAPSULES CONTAC OLD SPICE AFTER SHAVE LOTION P0LIDENT DENTURE CLEANSER TABLETS CLIP THIS COUPON M 50 ESTHERVILLE j THRIFT STAMPS I With This Coupon and 1 Purchase of $5.00 or More. | Wednesday Thru Saturday January 19, 20, 21, 22 Good On Cash Purchases Only." NOT GOOD' ON DELIVERIES ESTHERVILLE DRUG CO. {